AMPHIBIA: CAUDATA: PLETHODONTIDAE Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles patch, often red, running on the cheek from the posterior of the orbit to the posterior of the commissure. Breeding males from Means, D. Bruce. 1999. Desrnognathus auriculatus. Mississippi were 40-65 mm, mature females 38-55 mrn SVL (Valentine 1963); from Texas males averaged 46.6 mrn SVL (N Desmognathus auriculatus (Holbrook) = 92, 31-55 mm) and females 45.0 mm (N = 112, 31-56 Southern Dusky Salamander mrn)(Cook and Brown 1974), and from Florida adult males with two or more lobes per testis averaged 52 mm SVL (N = 27,44- Salamandra uuriculata Holbrook 1838:47. Type locality, "Rice- 66 mm) and females 47.0 mrn (N = 19.43-53 mm)(Means 1974). borough, [Liberty County] in Georgia." Holotype, undesig- The largest specimens, two unsexed individuals, were reported nated. "The specimens from which the ... description was by Funk (1964) from North Carolina at 75.6 and 83.5 mm SVL taken came from Riceborough, in Georgia, and were furnished and 149.2 and 162.8 mm TL, respectively. me by my friend Dr. Harden." Syntypes are presumed to be In Florida and the Atlantic Coastal Plain, D. c~uriculatusis jet USNM 390 1 and USNM 27 1 13-5 (Dunn 1926; Kraig Adler black dorsally and ventrally. Three parallel lines of white dots 1993, pers. comm.). Examined by author. run laterally down the trunk and on the sides of the tail. These Desmognathus auriculatus: Baird 1849:286. First use of com- are aggregations of white iridophores surrounding the circular bination. vestiges of the larval neuromast organs (Means 1974). The up- Cylindrosoma auriculafurn: Durntril et al. 1854:8 1. permost line forms small, discrete, dorsolateral spots that nei- Plethodon uuriculaturn: Hallowell 1858:344. ther coalesce dorsally along the axis of the body, as in many Desmognathus fusca var. auriculata: Cope 1869: 1 16. other desmognathines, nor on the top of the tail. This line is Desmogtzathus fuscus auriculatus: Boulenger 1882:78. Emen- often obscured by melanization. A second, lower, line is usu- dation. ally obscured by melanization on the trunk, but runs out onto Drsrnognathus auruculata: Lonnberg 1894:337. Emendation. the sides of the tail to form discrete, white, diagnostic "port- Desmognathus fusca: Beyer 1900:35. Synonymized with D. holes" that usually are visible throughout life. The third line fuscus (Green). runs between the axilla and the insertion of the hind leg, also Desrnognnthusfuscus brimleyorum: Dunn 1926: 102 (part). forming diagnostic "portholes." In many populations, especially Desrnognathusfuscus curri: Neill 195 1 : 25. Type locality, "Sil- in Florida, individuals have a strong overwash of red pigment ver Glen Springs, in the Ocala National Forest, Marion that is obscure over the intense black ground color, but is very County, Florida." No holotype designated. Desmogtzathusfi obvious over the light cheek patch and on the white "portholes," carri was synonymized with D, auricu1atu.s by Rossman which sometimes appear intensely red. The red color is lost ( 1959) and Means ( 1974). quickly in preserved specimens. The belly is black or dark brown Desrnognathus fuscus fuscus x brirnleyorum: Wood and Clarke and usually peppered with small, white flecks. The flecks may 1955: 150. Misidentification and assignment as intergrades. be nearly absent, but when abundant, the belly may appear more white than black. A small, but distinct, dorsal fleshy keel is CONTENT. No subspecies are recognized. present on the tail, usually for its entire length. Western popu- lations from Mississippi to Texas may appear as those described DEFINITION. Desmognathus auriculatus is a wide-rang- above or may have a browner tone to the dark ground color ing, medium-sized plethodontid salamander with a distinct light (Cook and Brown 1974). See also Comments. rluumn. mu1111lelllurc: ucsnwgnulnus uurrcururus lrulrl ule Apalacnlcola lvilllunal roresr, uoeny LU., rloriua (pnologrdpn oy aurnor). L I 1 MAP. Distribution of De.smogtrcithus cruricirlnrri.s. The circle marks the type locality and dots indicate other records. The tail is laterally compressed and blade-shaped. especially the back, as in D. apalachicolae and D.f: conanti. The belly of posteriorly (Means 1974). and often has a faint wash of brown D. cruriculatus is black and often speckled with small patches or reddish color over its dorsal base. The toe tips lack cornifi- of white iridophores. The bellies of D. apalachicolae and D.5 cations. Costal grooves between armpit and groin number 14 conanti are white with a wash of dark pigment. Laterally, D. (Means 1999~). auricrrlatus is uniformly black. usually with a sharply demar- The black or dusky brown larvae range from about 9-10 mm cated row of white spots (sometimes red) between the axilla SVL at hatching to 24-32 mm at transformation (Valentine 1963. and the insertion of the hind limb; in contrast, the lateral aspect Dodd 1998, Means 1999c) and are unique among desmo- of D. apalochicolae and D.f:conanti is bicolored, the dark dor- gnathines for their darkly pigmented, bushy gills with 2240 solateral pigment thinning out to a light-colored ventrolateral gill fimbriae per side (Valentine 1963). aspect. The commissure of D. ouriculatits is nearly straight and the dentary is neither edentulous posteriorly nor notched as in DIAGNOSIS. Valentine (1963) compared Desm0gnathu.r D. apalachicolae and D. ochrophaeus (Means 1974, Means and auriculatus with D. fLiscus conanti from Mississippi. Means Karlin 1989). and Karlin ( 1989) discussed differences between D. artriculrrtus and two parapatric species in Florida, D. apc~lachicolaeand D. DESCRIPTIONS. Detailed descriptions of the adults were fuscus conanti. Desmognnthus apalachicolae is smaller as an given in Holbrook (1838), Cope (1869), Dunn (1917, 1926), adult and has a round tail when compared to the more robust Bishop ( 1943, color pattern and variation), Chaney (1949, Loui- and bladelike tail, with a distinct dorsal keel, of D. artrici~latus. siana), Robertson andTyson (1 950), Goin (1 95 I), Neill(195 1 ), The tail of D. fusciis concznti is slightly keeled, but not so strongly Cam and Goin (1959). Rossman (1959, Florida and Georgia), as D. auriculatus. Dorsally, D. auricrtlatrts usually is pattern- Valentine (1963, Mississippi), Folkerts (1968, Alabama varia- less but may be slightly lighter in color than laterally. In Texas, tion), Cochran and Goin (1970). Livezey (19.50, Texas), Cook Louisiana, and Mississippi, the light middorsal area may ap- and Brown (1974,Texas). Stevenson (1976). Martofet al. (1980), pear as a slightly emarginate stripe. Desmognnthus auricularus Means (1974, 1986, 1999c, Florida). and Conant and Collins does not have 10-14 roundish blotches that are set off vividly (1991). Eggs found in the field were described by Chaney from the dorsal ground color and often are fused in pairs across (1949), Livezey (1950), Goin (195 I), Neil1 (195 I), and Means (1999~).Chaney (1949) and Goin (1951) described hatchlings. peninsula about Levy Co. (Lonnberg 1894; Brimley 1910; A number of researchers have described the larva: Chaney Fowler 1917; Carr 1940; Means 1974, 1975, 1999~;Seehorn (1949), Neill (1951), Valentine (1963), Folkerts (1968), 1982; Means and Simberloff 1987; Enge 1997a,b). In Alabama, Rubenstein (1971), Cook and Brown (1974), and Means (1974, the range is restricted to the southern tier of counties along the 1999~).Altig and Ireland (1984) provided a key to larval sala- Florida border and adjacent to Mobile Bay in Escambia and manders by which larvae of D. auriculatus can be identified. Baldwin counties (Loding 1922, Holt 1924, Mount 1975); ap- Recently metamorphosed individuals are described in Chaney parently the high elevations of the southern Alabama Red Hills (1949), Folkerts (1968), and Means (1999~).The size of do not provide the swampy wetland habitat of D. auriculatus. hatchlings, larvae, and metamorphs was reported from Florida In Mississippi, the species ranges farther inland along the by Dodd (1998) and Means (1999~).Livezey (l950), Folkerts swampy rivers that drain into the Gulf (Cook 1957, Valentine (1968). and Means ( 1974, 1999c) described juveniles. Mela- 1963). The species was abundant in the Florida parishes of nization and color change were discussed by Grobman (1950) Louisiana, and west to the Texas border in the middle portion of and Means (1974). Smith (1960) made color pattern and mor- that state (Burt 1935), but is unconfirmed from a 25-50-mile phometric comparisons with desmognathines from Arkansas. wide belt inland from the coast in southwestern Louisiana Rossman (1959) and Means (1974) compared D. auriculatus (Dundee and Rossman 1989). In Texas, the species ranges from south Georgia and north Florida with D.$ carri Neill from throughout the Sabine, Neches, and Trinity river basins (Burt Marion Co., Florida and D.$ conanti, and concluded that carri 1938, Wright and Wright 1938, Smith and Buechner 1947, Sand- was a synomym of D. auriculatus. Means and Karlin (1989) ers and Smith 1949, Burger et al. 1949, Brown 1950, Dial 1965, described the differences between D. auriculatus and D. Cook and Brown 1974, Seifert and Wuerch 1978, Rakowitz et apalachicolae. al. 1983, Dixon 1987). Desnwgnathus auriculatus is confined to swampy habitats of the outer Coastal Plain where the eleva- ILLUSTRATIONS. Eggs and developing embryos from tions run from "Sea level to between 100 and 500 feet" (Dunn Louisiana are illustrated in Chaney (1949). A Florida hatchling 1917). Disjunct populations reported from Alabama and from is illustrated in Goin (1951). Pen and ink illustrations of larvae above the Fall Line in Georgia (Petranka 1998) are probably are in Valentine (1963, Mississippi), Cook and Brown (1974, based on misidentified specimens. Texas), and Ashton and Ashton (1988, Florida). Black and white photographs of Mississippi and Florida larvae and transformlings FOSSIL RECORD. None. appear in Means (1974) and Petranka (1998). Accurate draw- ings of adults appear in Holbrook (1838). Neill(1951), Conant PERTINENT LITERATURE. Adler (1976) discussed the (1975), Conant and Collins (1998), and Powell et al.